As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.
But over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”
Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.
Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”
Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’
The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.
“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.
Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”
“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”
The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.
Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”
Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad
